ZAGREB, October 21, 2019 - European Commission spokeswoman Mina Andreeva said on Monday that the Commission would adopt a report on Croatia's compliance with the Schengen Area requirements on Tuesday.

Tomorrow the College of Commissioners will evaluate Croatia's progress in meeting the criteria required for joining the Schengen Area, she said after the chiefs-of-staff of all commissioners defined the agenda of Tuesday's Commission meeting in Strasbourg.

Numerous prerequisites must be met to join the passport-free travel area, including taking responsibility for controlling the EU's external borders, issuing visas on behalf of the area's other member states, and establishing efficient cooperation with the security authorities of the member states.

A country hoping to join must be capable of fully enforcing the Borders Code, which includes controlling the borders on land, at sea and in airports, issuing visas, police cooperation and personal data protection. The country must also be entered into the Schengen Information System.

The Commission carries out an evaluation before a country enters the Area, as well as occasionally after accession to see if the Schengen laws are being enforced. The Commission's evaluation on technical preparedness is not enough for joining but it is a prerequisite for the member states to make a political decision on the accession.

Bulgaria and Romania, for instance, have had a positive evaluation since 2011 but have still not joined Schengen because there is no consensus among the member states.

Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said in late September that it was difficult to predict when Croatia would join Schengen but that the goal was to receive a positive evaluation by the Commission this year that Croatia had met all the criteria.

More on Croatia and the Schengen Area can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, October 21, 2019 - Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković told the France 24 TV channel that his goal at the time of negotiations on the distribution of key posts in European institutions had been for the European People's Party (EPP), whose negotiator he was, to get the post of European Commission President, which was eventually achieved.

At the end of an EU summit on Friday, Plenković gave two interviews to France 24, one in English for its Talking Europe programme and one in French for its Ici L'Europe programme, which was aired on Saturday and Sunday.

In the interview that was conducted in French, a question was asked in which the interviewer stated that Plenković, too, had been mentioned as a candidate for EC President.

Asked if he regretted the missed opportunity, Plenković said: "No, my candidate was Manfred Weber. I and Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins were negotiators on behalf of the EPP and my goal was for the EPP to get the seat of EC President, which we eventually achieved. There were a lot of rumours but I have been Croatia's prime minister for three years. We are about to take over presidency of the Council of the EU and I have a very big responsibility on the national level," said Plenković.

After the other two political groups in the EP, the Socialists and the Liberals, did not agree that Weber, whose EPP was the relative winner of the elections, should become EC President, the three strongest political groups each determined two negotiators, and Plenković was one of the EPP's. The Socialists and the Liberals were in favour of Dutch Frans Timmermans becoming the new EC President but the EPP and Plenković strongly opposed it. Eventually, Ursula von der Leyen of Germany was nominated for the post.

Plenković was also asked about the candidacy of Dubravka Šuica as EC Vice President-elect for Democracy and Demography, for whom the journalist said that she had barely passed her hearing before the EP.

Plenković said that that was not the case and that Šuica won two-thirds majority support, expressing great satisfaction with von der Leyen's putting Šuica in charge of demography.

Commenting on the EU's decision not to start accession talks with North Macedonia and Albania, Plenković said that "it was not a very good decision" considering that North Macedonia had had the courage to change its name in the hope that that would help start its EU entry talks, stressing that the EU had missed a rendezvous with its historical responsibility.

As for French President Emmanuel Macron's demand that the EU should reform the enlargement process and become more politically integrated before admitting new members, Plenković said that the debate about whether the EU should be more deepened or more widened had been going on for more than 30 years, stressing that the enlargement process was now stricter than it had been to make sure new members were better prepared for membership.

More news about Croatia and the EU can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, October 18, 2019 - Croatia regrets that EU leaders failed to agree on opening accession negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania, which deserve it, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Friday.

"Croatia regrets that because we believed that this was the right time to open negotiations, given that both countries, in the European Commission's estimate, have achieved a sufficient degree of progress. Several countries didn't share that position. One should continue to insist on those two dossiers and we must send a message to our friends in North Macedonia and Albania that they should continue with reforms and that a huge majority of us will continue to support them on the European path," Plenković told Croatian reporters in Brussels ahead of the second day of an EU summit.

The heads of the member states did not agree on a proposal to launch entry talks with the two countries nor adopted any conclusions on enlargement.

Plenković said the arguments of those against launching the negotiations were "thin... The majority of us made convincing arguments in favour of a positive decision but, unfortunately, several member states last night couldn't accept that decision. We are sorry about that and believe that not adopting the decision is not in line with the EU's historic responsibility."

Given the situation, the enlargement summit Croatia plans to organise in Zagreb next May, during its Council of the EU presidency, "becomes even more important because it's the moment when we have to define what we want in the next decade, the method, the pace, the political and security messages we wish to send Southeast Europe," Plenković said.

"We should reach a consensus and it seems to me that some countries think too much about how a positive decision on enlargement would reflect on their internal circumstances. That's not good because one should be broader-minded, bolder and take into account that other global stakeholders have an influence in this region and that this region between member states has no future but as part of the EU. We will prepare in line with that, holding consultations, conducting talks, and I hope that in Zagreb we will come up with a good text on enlargement."

Plenković called "naive and unrealistic" the idea during last night's debate to task the Commission with proposing an enlargement reform in January. He said this was unrealistic because of the short time, given that the new Commission would take office later than it should have and the ensuing Christmas and New Year's holidays.

He reiterated how important it was that Croatia had wrapped up its EU entry talks in June 2011 given how much circumstances had changed in the meantime.

"That was a historic achievement and only a very small circle of people perceive and are aware of that fact. After that, some stakeholders came on the scene that haven't contributed to that one iota. They don't identify with the process, they don't understand what that means to us, they don't see the economic, political and security effects, and it would be good if we talked about that a bit more," Plenković said.

"Even then there were attempts at destabilisation... initiatives to topple the government, even from the then (Croatian) president. We endured all that and that's why the message to endure is more important than the message to topple something," he added.

More news about Croatia and the EU can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, October 18, 2019 - European heads of state and government and senior EU officials, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, European Commission President-elect Ursula von der Leyen, outgoing Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and European Council President Donald Tusk, are expected to attend an election convention of the European People's Party (EPP) in Zagreb on November 20-21, Jutarnji List daily wrote on Friday.

Over 2,000 delegates from more than 40 countries in which the EPP has members are expected to attend the convention at the Arena Zagreb to choose new leadership: a president, a secretary-general, 10 vice-presidents and a treasurer. The gathering will be hosted by the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) and its leader, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković.

Among those attending will be Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, European Parliament President Joseph Daul, leader of the EPP group in the European Parliament Manfred Weber, European commissioners and members of the European Parliament, former European Parliament President Antonio Tajani, former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, and EPP heads of state or government from Ireland, Latvia, Greece, Cyprus, Romania, Bulgaria, the Netherlands...

The attendance of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is questionable because his party has been suspended from the EPP and has no voting rights, but has been invited to the convention. Also uncertain is the attendance of Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, whose Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) is an associate member of the EPP. The SNS does not have a voting right, but has been invited.

Jutarnji List said that the HDZ would not speculate as to who the new EPP leader might be and whether any of its officials might run for a position in the party.

More HDZ news can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, October 18, 2019 - Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said in Brussels on Thursday "the rules can't be changed while the game is on," commenting on demands to change the methodology of EU accession negotiations before approving their start with North Macedonia and Albania.

"The new, revised enlargement methodology suggested primarily by France will bring the negotiations being conducted by Serbia and Montenegro into a different position and also perhaps those conducted by North Macedonia and Albania, and we can only imagine what will happen with Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo. This should be discussed, but changing rules along the way isn't good," Plenković said ahead of an EU summit.

The meeting of heads of state or government will discuss a proposal to set a date for opening accession negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania. This is an unusual occurrence as enlargement is usually dealt with at lower levels, ambassadorial or possibly ministerial.

EU foreign ministers met on Tuesday but were unable to agree due to opposition from France, which is asking that the decision be postponed until a new accession methodology is agreed on.

Every member state but France supports opening entry talks with North Macedonia, while several have certain reservations concerning Albania. At Tuesday's meeting, a proposal to separate the two countries so that at least North Macedonia could get the green light was turned down. The consensus of all member states is required for every step in the enlargement process.

"The European Commission very clearly recommended opening the negotiations and that the time is right. We believe this is a question of the credibility of the whole process," Plenković said, reiterating that Croatia supports opening entry talks with both countries.

"Now one can see how good it is that Croatia joined the EU, given that everything is changing," he said, adding that "from what I know, I'm not too optimistic" that a positive decision would be made for the two countries.

More news about Croatia and the European Union can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, October 16, 2019 - EU retail trade is growing, boosted by price growth, while sound quantity growth is spurred by Eastern Europe, including Croatia, a conference organised by the Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK) and Suvremena Trgovina magazine was told in Zagreb on Wednesday.

"Retail trade growth is generated solely by price growth. The three percent growth in the second quarter of 2019 was due to price growth, while quantity growth, which indicates the health of retail trade, is stagnating in Europe," said Jelena Doko Cetina, commercial leader at the global data analytics company Nielsen.

She noted that the stagnation was coming from Western European countries, where people were increasingly turning to food consumption away from the home, while Eastern Europe, including Croatia, was recording retail sales growth.

"Globally, we can say that consumers are feeling optimistic. The situation in Europe is slightly more realistic, as we are slightly more inclined to pessimism, primarily because we are more cautious with our finances," Doko Cetina said.

The HGK vice-president for trade and finance, Josip Zaher, said that in the first eight months of 2019 retail trade in the EU grew by 2.7 percent on average compared with the same period last year, while Croatia recorded a rise in retail trade of 5 percent.

Mario Antonić, state secretary at the Ministry of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Crafts, said that accession to the European Union had given Croatia great opportunities as well as great competition which in turn brought about many challenges. "There is no longer a national, but only a global market," he said.

More economy news can be found in the Business section.

ZAGREB, October 12, 2019 - President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović said on Friday she did not consider the second postponement of a decision by the European Commission (EC) on Croatia's technical preparedness to join the Schengen Area to be a "big delay" and recalled that the Union was now burdened with Brexit.

The EC's decision on Croatia's technical preparedness to join the Schengen Area is no longer on the agenda of a meeting of the College of Commissioners scheduled for October 16 and has been moved to the meeting on October 22.

"This isn't a big delay," Grabar-Kitarović told reporters in Athens, adding that perhaps this was due to technical reasons.

In a statement to the press after attending a meeting of the Arraiolos Group focusing on migration and the economic crisis, she expressed hope that "there won't be any political obstruction," and reiterated that she had told her European counterparts that their territory too was being protected on the Croatian border.

The president did not say who she was referring to when she mentioned "obstruction," however neighbouring Slovenia has said on several occasions that Croatia's accession to the Schengen Area might be conditional on it accepting the arbitration ruling on the border dispute with Slovenia.

The president stated that Croatia was concerned about the increasing number of migrants in Bosnia and Herzegovina and refugee camps being set up along the EU border and the poor conditions in them despite the fact that Bosnia and Herzegovina has received financial donations from some EU member states to accommodate the migrants.

EU enlargement to Southeast Europe "is the only guarantee of lasting stability and security," she said.

The "slow" focusing of Brussels on the countries in Southeast Europe aspiring for EU accession - Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia is creating a vacuum which then is being "filled by some third parties that are not necessarily well-meaning, and that poses a "security threat on the very borders of the EU," she said.

Messages from Brussels "have to be a lot clearer" and followed up with "concrete acts," Grabar-Kitarović told reporters. Otherwise people in those countries will turn to other options, she said without elaborating.

During his recent visit to Montenegro and North Macedonia, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned of growing Russian and Chinese influence.

With reference to Turkey, Grabar-Kitarović recalled that in January she had told her Turkish counterpart that Croatia supported Turkey's pathway to the EU and that it was "exceptionally important to keep Turkey on the European pathway."

She believes that neither side should be blackmailing the other and that Brussels had to meet its financial obligations toward Turkey, which has accommodated almost three million refugees from Syria.

"If you let the migrants through, the first victims will be your neighbours in the Balkans," countries in southeast Europe, she said.

More news about Croatia and the Schengen Area can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, October 11, 2019 - Migrations are one of the greatest challenges of our time and the EU has to deal with them jointly and responsibly, Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović said addressing the Arraiolos Group summit in Athens on Friday and pointed out the huge efforts Croatia has been making to protect the EU's longest external land border.

Grabar-Kitarović was addressing the 15th informal meeting of 13 EU heads of state without executive powers, known as the Arraiolos Group, which is being held in Greece this year, the two central topics of the meeting being ways of dealing efficiently with the economic and migrant crises and jointly resolving modern security challenges in the EU and its member states.

"The migration issue is one of the biggest challenges of our era," said Grabar-Kitarović and expressed regret that the EU had not yet responded with solutions that would be acceptable to all member states.

"Only with joint effort can we solve that issue so that we can protect migrants and their rights and relieve the negative consequences of illegal migrations," and that is why all stakeholders have to "act responsibly," she said.

Croatia is "investing huge efforts to successfully protect the EU's longest external land border," she underscored.

She rejected claims by some organisations and politicians that Croatia's police were applying brutality in preventing illegal migrations from neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Refugee camps are being erected in the neighbouring country along the border with Croatia, with migrants attempting to cross it to get to western EU members, she recalled.

Cooperation between authorities in Sarajevo and local authorities in the country is not good, she said and reiterated that Croatia was successfully protecting the longest land border and was doing everything to access the Schengen Area as soon as possible.

Europe must not be slow in seeking answers and solutions to the challenges of our times, the summit's host, Greek President Prokopios Pavlopoulos, said.

He called for strengthening European institutions during the current time of huge challenges to the European Union and the world and warned that Europe had to catch up with the times so that it could handle challenges.

Speaking about the economic crisis, President Grabar-Kitarović said that the outlook for global growth and preventing possible economic crises was dwindling and according to forecasts economic growth would slow down to the lowest annual rate (2.9 percent in 2019, 3 percent in 2020) since the financial crisis.

In those circumstances we can expect a "fall in economic activity, a loss of jobs and further impoverishment of the already vulnerable social groups."

She also cited the escalation of trade tensions as well as the threat of a no-deal Brexit and the demographic decline.

"Even though there is no direct danger to Croatia's economy in that regard an even mild no-deal exit (by Great Britain) will have a huge impact and slow down growth rates in Europe and we will all feel it," she warned.

The population decrease is strongly affecting some EU member states, she said and added that demography was a central priority of her term in office.

"The negative demographic trend in Croatia is already restricting economic growth, particularly in the east (Slavonia)," she underscored.

In the future the EU has to work on erasing visible and invisible borders within the Union itself, she added, stressing that the uneven development in the European community continued to be a major challenge.

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev warned that the EU was still a Europe of differences, with Grabar-Kitarović adding that the Three Seas Initiative was a good way to bridge those differences.

Croatia has taken a proactive role in that initiative to strengthen Europe's resilience, particularly with regard to energy security and neutralising the lack of infrastructure in central Europe, she said.

More news about Croatia and the EU can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, October 11, 2019 - Croatia on Thursday received three letters of formal notice from the European Commission for failure to comply with its obligations under EU law. The letters were issued as part of the Commission's monthly package of infringement decisions.

Croatia, along with Denmark, Sweden, Greece, Austria, Luxembourg, Portugal and Slovenia, was urged to bring its national legislation into line with the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive, which ensures that the impact on the environment of public and private projects is assessed before they are authorised.

New Croatian legislation introduces a specific procedure for authorisation of projects for exploitation of gravel and sand by extraction from renewable deposits in watercourses and other surface water bodies. The Commission considers that the legislation constitutes a flagrant breach of the environmental assessments' provisions in the Habitats Directive, the Water Framework Directive and the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive, as the legislation entails that certain projects for exploitation of gravel and sand are excluded from requirements for assessing water status and environmental impacts of such exploitation.

The member states concerned were given two months to reply to the arguments raised by the Commission, otherwise the Commission may decide to send a reasoned opinion.

The second letter of formal notice was addressed to Croatia and 12 other member states for failing to implement EU rules on combating the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children and child pornography.

The Commission decided to launch infringement procedures against 13 member states for the incorrect implementation of the Directive into national law. The member states concerned have two months to respond to the Commission.

The third letter of formal notice concerns safety requirements for tunnels. It was sent to Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Italy and Spain for not complying with the Directive setting out minimum safety measures relating to the infrastructure and operation of tunnels. It applies to all tunnels in the trans-European road network with lengths of over 500 metres.

The member states concerned have not implemented the full set of required infrastructural measures to ensure the highest safety standards in certain tunnels falling within this scope. They were given two months to notify the Commission of measures taken to remedy this situation, otherwise the Commission may adopt reasoned opinions.

The EU infringement procedure includes three steps: sending a letter of formal notice, sending a reasoned opinion and, if the Commission is not satisfied, referring the case to the Court of the EU.

More news about Croatia and European Union can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, October 10, 2019 - The presidency of the European Union is an opportunity for the Croatian economy, but the question is whether the national economy is prepared for it, a conference entitled "Economic aspects of the Croatian presidency of the Council of the EU", organised by the Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK) and MBA Croatia, was told in Zagreb on Thursday.

"During a presidency emphasis is often placed on opportunities to organise events, but that is of secondary importance. ... Much more important is influence on policy, the EU system, especially on the budget," said Marko Jurčić, adviser to the HGK president.

"Now is our chance to influence these elements and better promote our interests. These six months actually gives us an opportunity to create a better starting position for our economy in the next seven to eight years," he added.

The CEO of the Vlahović Group, Natko Vlahović, said the EU presidency was an excellent opportunity for the Croatian economy "but realistically speaking it is not prepared for the EU presidency nor informed." He said that it would be Croatia's first presidency of the Union and that the country did not have practical experience.

Vlahović said that another problem was that Croatia had not specified whether its focus would be on "the economy or on political and European themes." He said that during its presidency Estonia, for example, had focused on digitisation, while Malta put special emphasis on cryptocurrencies.

"We should not have too great expectations. Six months pass very quickly anyway. We can promote our priorities, but there is not much room. That's why small countries usually choose one focus, and we have opted for a political focus - enlargement," said Senada Šelo Šabić, a senior researcher at the Institute for Development and International Relations, adding that it was questionable whether this was good for Croatia.

She said that the success of a presidency was measured by legislative acts adopted, adding that it was not good that Croatia would hold the presidency at the start of the term of the new Commission.

More news about Croatia and the European Union can be found in the Politics section.